Alyssa Milano tweeted #MeToo just about one year ago. Since then, we’ve seen unprecedented attention on sexual harassment in the workplace and a number of high profile individuals have been taken to task.

For employers, the spotlight, viral encouragement to come forward and public scrutiny is translating to an outpouring of claims and lawsuits. Indeed, in September 2018, the EEOC reported a surge in sexual harassment filings–more than a 50percentincrease in suits challenging sexual harassment over FY 2017.

New York state just released draft guidance and models for employers to comply with the state’s new sexual harassment prevention policy and training requirements, which go into effect on October 9, 2018. The state is encouraging comments from the public, employers and employees through September 12, 2018, which can be submitted through the state’s website.

This week, the SEC publicized its largest-ever whistleblower awards, thereby underscoring the value of robust internal reporting procedures. On March 19, the SEC issued a press release announcing that three individuals will get more than $83 million for providing information to the agency to help bring a case.

We asked our Canadian colleague, partner Christopher Burkett, to describe the current labor and employment landscape in Canada and here’s what Chris had to say:

It’s evolving at a fast pace. With a left-leaning Liberal government in power at both the federal and provincial level (Canada and Ontario), legislative priorities have included legalizing marijuana, improved parental and care-giving benefits and strengthening other employee rights. As with many other parts of the world, the ever-increasing compliance landscape and the expectations of the public and employees are reshaping the workplace, and there is an increasing emphasis on internal investigations and legislative protections for workers. In addition, Canada is beginning to look closely at corporate activity abroad in terms of labor/human rights and supply chains. The government recently announced an ombudsperson for responsible business. The government is also considering a Modern Slavery Act. All of this means we are partnering with employers to look around the corner and help our clients be proactive and to fight back where there has been overreach.

On February 21, 2018, the US Supreme Court narrowed the definition of the term “whistleblower” under the Dodd-Frank Act. The Court found that to be a “whistleblower” covered by Dodd-Frank’s anti-retaliation provision, an employee must report concerns about their employer’s conduct to the Securities and Exchange Commission. In other words, an employee who reports such concerns only internally is not entitled to protection under Dodd-Frank.

ABOUT BAKER & MCKENZIE

Founded in 1949, Baker McKenzie advises many of the world’s most dynamic and successful business organizations through more than 4,100 locally qualified lawyers and 6,000 professional staff in 77 offices in 47 countries. The Firm is known for its global perspective, deep understanding of the local language and culture of business, uncompromising commitment to excellence, and world-class fluency in its client service. For more information: www.bakermckenzie.com